Arab leaders have so far reacted with astonishing passivity to the unfolding tragedy in Iraq. They have preferred to remain spectators, largely, no doubt, because it was not clear how they could act and whether the parties to the conflict were ready to accept their help.

Today all that is changing. The grave threat to vital Arab interests requires -- indeed demands -- concerted Arab action. Moreover, the bloody stalemate on the ground suggests that an outside intervention could be effective and might be generally welcome.

In Washington last month, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, warned the Bush administration that Iraq is hurtling toward disintegration, a development that he said could drag the region into war.

It seems clear that two trends pose a very serious danger to the Arab world.

First, a Sunni-Shiite civil war (which is, in fact, already raging) could spill over into the gulf and beyond with disastrous consequences for the stability of the states concerned.

Second, a dismembered Iraq would no longer be able to serve as a counterweight to Iran, thus dealing a serious blow to Arab regional security.

For these two reasons alone, an Arab initiative to end the conflict is urgently required.

What form could it take? Some leading European countries, confronting the difficulty of concerted action by their 25-member union, are talking of forming a core group within the European Union. The Arabs face a similar dilemma. The 22-member Arab League is too big and too divided for effective action in spite of the efforts of its excellent Secretary-General, Amr Mousa.

An Arab core group -- consisting, for example of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco -- might be better placed to devise a strategy to help the United States, Britain and the suffering Iraqis out of the current quagmire.

Such a four-member core group could (a) hold a summit of their heads of state in, say, Abu Dhabi; (b) call for a three month-long truce in Iraq; (c) set a firm date for the withdrawal of foreign forces; and (d) invite all Iraqi parties and communities -- whether Shiite, Sunni, Kurd or Turkman, as well as nationalist, non-confessional and secular groups -- to send representatives to a grand conference in a neutral venue to thrash out a formula for power-sharing and revenue-sharing in a new Iraq.

One of the aims of such a conference would be to lay the groundwork for a $30 billion Iraq Reconstruction Fund under United Nations control with contributions from the U.S. ($10billion); the Arab Gulf ($10 billion); and the EU, China and Japan ($10 billion).

In May 2003, shortly after the invasion of Iraq, Adeed Dawisha, an American of Iraqi origin, and his wife, Karen, both professors at an American university, published an article in the prestigious journal Foreign Affairs setting out guidelines for a democratic Iraq.

They argue for a federal solution -- but not separatism or dismemberment -- in which power is devolved to Iraq's 18 provinces, which would each elect a local government, while oil resources remain in the hands of the central government. They point to the success of other federal states like Germany, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Their detailed recommendations are well worth pondering today and could provide valuable ideas in the shaping of a new federal, yet united, Iraq.

Now is the moment to make a fresh start in Iraq and halt the dreadful cycle of killing by both the insurgents and the United States. Crimes are being committed on both sides that will be difficult to forget or forgive and that will weigh heavily on the future of those committing them.

There are at least three major reasons why the time is ripe for an Arab intervention.

First, the United States and Britain are urgently seeking an exit strategy from the conflict. The cost of the war in troops and treasure has become unacceptable. In both countries, public opinion has turned decisively against the war and is demanding the recall of the troops. President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair continue to speak of "staying the course" but in fact both would now grasp eagerly at any credible opportunity to get out without too much loss of face.

Second, in the Arab world, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz has ascended the Saudi throne, and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has been re-elected for a fifth term of office. These two highly experienced rulers are well aware of the danger of allowing the Iraqi situation to deteriorate further. They also know what tremendous prestige they would gain from a successful Arab intervention.

Third, record oil prices have liberated Arab oil-producing states from immediate financial constraints and given them great freedom of action. Now is the time for them to be generous. They should use their financial muscle to resolve the terrible conflict on their borders and not leave to others what they should be doing themselves.